Chokepoint
Chokepoint is one of the default Carbon Combat maps, featuring close-quarters Capture the Flag-style gameplay. Chokepoint is the newest official map. There is a racetrack around the outer perimeter. Each team has four spawns: Three close to the launch ramps in the main base area, and one behind the base on the outer edge of the race track (not pictured). Design The design of Chokepoint is centered around close quarters Capture-the-Flag gameplay. Aerial combat above the structure, driving along the ramps, and racing around the perimeter are all common forms of gameplay in Chokepoint. If the game type is CTF, some common routes to the enemy base are taking the launch ramp and flying and driving around the outer ring. Both invisibility and health pickups are placed evenly across the map, and provide strategic advantages when used. Additionally, Chokepoint-style canisters and crates are located in groups around the map. As all canisters are explosive, maneuvering an enemy nearby to some can also provide a major advantage. Chokepoint was inspired by Aubrey Falconer's Levitasha. Early Design Chokepoint initially went into the planning phase in early June of 2011. As Battle Island and the Abandoned Silos had already been designed, created and/or implemented into Carbon Combat, a creative hole began to form in the Carbon Combat development process and it became apparent that another map would be needed in the game, designed specifically for the racing style of shooter action. The original iteration in the planning phase had Chokepoint at half the size of the final version and much slimmer. Although the bases were to be the same distance apart, both the elevated catwalks and the outer 'racing ring' were not originally planned in the map. However, after the 3D model was completed, it became apparent that the map was too linear for the purposes of a car-shooter game, and it would also be too easy to farm credits. Also, the design of Chokepoint called for automated turrets, which were not in development at that moment and have not yet been implemented into the game, as of early January of 2012. Hence, a design revision was necessary to remove some of the major flaws of the early design. Revisions to Design In order to remedy some of the major flaws, and to remove the turrets, the design of Chokepoint had to be revised. The original design was very linear, meaning that the player had only one choice of path if he wanted to drive from one base to the other. Thus, upper and lower catwalks were added on both sides of the main bridge. They are very thin, so a curving path was needed instead of sharp turns, so it could be easily driven on without falling off. The bases were also made octagonal, and the ramps leading up to the base were rotated 90 degrees, so that turn to go up and down the ramp was less dramatic. The spawn was first located below the upper level of the base, but the lower level of the base was removed, and the spawn was moved to the upper and now only level of the base area. The last major change was to add the racing ring around the outside of the whole structure. A lower catwalk, like the upper catwalk above it, was initially placed there, but it was removed in favor of connecting its ramps to the racing ring around the outside. The ring was intended to provide a roundabout method of going to the enemy base. Indeed, one can drive along the racing ring, and tie with someone flying directly there. The branching of the 'flow' of the map removed the tendency to farm and improved the playability of the map. Final Design Once Chokepoint's architecture was completed, it was textured with a combination of rusty metal and dull metal textures. A red and blue light glow effect was added at each of the bases, with the red being and the red base and the blue at the blue, as expected. Crates and canisters were placed at strategic and aesthetically locations, such as on the catwalks, along the race track, and around the bases. Three health pickups were placed sparingly, as to promote lots of battles, along the midline of the map: One at each base, and one in the exact center. One invisibility pickup was placed below the health pickup at the middle of the map, and four more were placed symmetrically along the racing ring. The spawn at each base became four separate spawns, three in the base and one directly behind it on the racing ring, that would be chosen from randomly. Terrain Several terrain designs went into consideration. Chokepoint was designed to be floating unsupported, but this idea was scrapped in favor of a slightly more realistic approach. What then was considered was balancing the Chokepoint structure above a large rift in an otherwise flat land, with a river far below. This proved to look rather bland, and also caused lag on slower systems due to its size. The design that was chosen was a ring of mountains, with a sinkhole in the middle. This terrain echoed the symmetry of Chokepoint itself, making it both visually pleasing and fitting. This also enabled gameplay to take place below the structure itself, also in a ring, opening more possibilities for players. Category:Maps